


Try Again

by miscellanium



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Awkward Crush, Episode Related, Multi, Pre-Slash, Squabbling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 08:25:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4599768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miscellanium/pseuds/miscellanium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was as though the two of them were competing for Yuuya's attention. The realization made his stomach lurch, though whether out of dismay or anticipation he couldn't quite tell. Maybe both.</p><p>[follows the end of episode 21. after running into mr. sawatari and witnessing shun's xyz attack, yuuya decides to give shingo a second chance. sora invites himself along and things go about as well as one might expect.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Try Again

**Author's Note:**

>   
> _"try again" by big star:_  
>  lord, i've been trying to be what i should  
> lord, i've been trying to do what i could  
> but each time, it gets a little harder  
> i feel the pain  
> but i'll try again
> 
> lord, i've been trying to be understood  
> and lord, i've been trying to do as you would  
> but each time, it gets a little harder  
> i feel the pain  
> but i'll try again
> 
>   
> 

"This looks like it's going to get troublesome," Sora said, turning away from the growing LDS crowd and guiding Yuzu ahead of him. "You should hurry up too, Yuuya."

"Y-yeah!" Yuuya was slow to run after them, his brain stuck on processing Yuzu's outburst about people disappearing and calling her the wrong name. Then Yaiba called him aside and by the time they were done talking Sora and Yuzu were nowhere to be seen. She'd left behind a card on the ground, though, one she must have forgotten to pick up.

That was the most Yuuya had seen of her in days. But she was gone again, pulled away by Sora, and Yuuya still hadn't figured out an answer to Nico Smiley's challenge. Surprise and steal the hearts of the audience, huh? Without Yuzu around, who could he turn to for a practice partner? Gongenzaka was busy with his own effort to qualify for the Championship, and Yuzu's dad….

Yuzu's Polymerization card almost glowed in the evening light, the low sun hitting the glossy surface just so, like a parallel rare. Like Sawatari Shingo's cards. That XYZ attack yesterday was still sitting uneasy in the back of Yuuya's mind, and Sawatari's father had been there; were they going to think he was the culprit again? At the same time, though, seeing what Sawatari's father was like—not that it excused anything, but at least it was a reason. With a sigh, Yuuya looked around at the warehouses, the harbor barely visible in the dusk. Sawatari couldn't be all bad, he was sure of it. Maybe just start with a phone call.

Once safely back in his room, Yuuya stared at his d-pad and hit the call button. On the second ring he switched to speakerphone, browsing the net for cafes still open at this hour while waiting for Sawatari to pick up. Their duel hadn't been half bad, circumstances aside. Pretty weighty circumstances, true, but there was a reason, right? Sawatari had seemed like a decent duelist under the threats and boasts, and when they'd talked at lunch that time it'd been calmer, sort of, and he could see a certain potential there. Ever since his dad left Yuuya'd learned a lot about second chances; he could tell Sawatari had a kind of softness hiding under those sharp angles. Something in the curve of his jaw and the way he held his hands, his hips—

Right before it would have gone to voicemail there was a click and then: "Hello?"

"Good eveni—" Yuuya put on his brightest, most friendly voice but was cut off by a loud thumping noise.

"AHA! Are you calling to apologize, Sakaki Yuuya?!"

"What? No, I—" 

"My papa got attacked yesterday by an XYZ duelist; have you no shame? You should just turn yourself in already!"

Yuuya blinked at his d-pad as the tirade continued, waiting until Sawatari finally sputtered quiet.

"Sawatari." Yuuya would laugh at how over the top he was being but. Probably not the best idea right now.

The other kid harrumphed. "What."

"I saw the attack. It wasn't me. Look, can we talk?"

"What is there to talk about? You should be focusing on making sure you get into the Championship," Sawatari said. "I'm hanging up." It wasn't as easy to tell over the phone but he sounded more than just annoyed. Flustered, almost, as though Yuuya had caught him off-balance somehow—

"Wait!" When Yuuya didn't hear a dial tone, he continued. "I know it's getting late, but there's a cafe still open. They make these great fruit drinks with umbrellas and silly straws and everything." After a couple beats, he sighed and added, "I'll treat you?"

"Excuse you, like I couldn't buy the whole shop." Sawatari clicked his tongue. "I don't do kiddie drinks, but.... Are we thinking of the same place?"

\----

As Shingo hung up he remembered when someone had told him about how old phones came in two parts and you could slam the receiver down. It was a real shame that'd been phased out but at least he could hit the table in front of him again and he did, banging his fists down just inches away from Yamabe's laptop.

Kakimoto was quickest, yanking the laptop away and shoving it into Yamabe's arms. They'd been watching a movie together but one look from Ootomo and it was agreed: the movie could wait. Their warehouse hideout was still battered from that bizarre duel, sunlight coming in through the cracked concrete, and with the sharp shadows on Shingo's face it was hard for his friends to tell what he was thinking.

Sitting forward, Ootomo put a hand on Shingo's thigh. "Sawatari-san, what did he say?"

"Nothing!" And that was exactly the problem; Sakaki Yuuya kept just dropping into his life and humiliating him for no reason when all he wanted to do was duel, collect rare cards, and hang out with his friends. If he'd known what he was getting into when he said yes to Akaba—

Yamabe nudged him. "Are you gonna go meet him?" When Shingo grumbled he rolled his eyes (discreetly, of course) and continued. "Might be a good idea, because then maybe you could ask him about—"

"About why he keeps attacking me? About why he won't leave me alone?!" Shingo jumped to his feet and took a deep breath, but Kakimoto was in his face before he could open his mouth again.

"You're the one who won't leave him alone! Do you know how much you've been talking about him? Acting like him?"

Shingo knew deep down Kakimoto was right but no way he was gonna admit that to anybody, including himself. How could he focus on getting people to laugh with him, not at him, if he couldn't stop thinking about how Sakaki succeeded at that so easily? Or about the way Sakaki's eyes always seemed to light up when someone praised him? What would they look like if Sakaki were the one to praise—

Through gritted teeth, Shingo said, "You all are coming with me so if he tries any dirty tricks we'll get him this time for sure. It's a public place but I wouldn't put anything past him."

\----

The sky was deepening into purple now but with the city lights the bike paths were clear and easy to follow. Yuuya pulled on his goggles and set off, trying to focus on enjoying the wind in his hair instead of worrying about Yuzu and where her road was leading. At a stop light a familiar shock of blue hair caught his eye right as he heard his name.

"Yuuya! Teacher!" Sora ran over and hopped onto the back of the bicycle just as the light changed. "Where are you going?"

"This is so not safe," Yuuya yelled, pedaling harder now against the extra weight.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine! So where are we going?" Sora squeezed him tight, the sound of candy crunching like bone loud in Yuuya's ear.

Yuuya couldn't help but smile; Sora's antics were the same as always, a comfort, and it'd be nice to have a friend with him for this meeting. They could catch up and Sora could be an ice-breaker for him and Sawatari—yeah, he was feeling a lot better about this now.

"That place with the drinks, you know the one."

Sora whooped. "Isn't today when they make their special pie? Let's go let's go let's go!"

Once Yuuya was sure of his balance, he let himself relax into Sora's arms as best as he could. He'd missed this, this feeling of unconditional love and admiration; with Yuzu and Gongenzaka there was more of a push and pull which was good in its own way, but he'd never really had anybody look up to him like this. The fact that they'd met through Sora stalking him was a nagging whisper he could ignore. As they turned a corner Sora kissed him behind the ear, lips moist and sticky. They'd fallen into this affection easy, holding hands and sharing desserts, and Yuuya was glad to have this touchstone as things started going uncertain around him.

"What do you think of Sawatari?"

Humming in thought against his neck, Sora paused before answering. "He seems like mostly looks and no brain."

Yuuya exclaimed, "That's not fair!" Sawatari was obviously smart enough, he just made bad decisions. Everybody did that. No argument about his looks, though, not with those striking grey eyes and—

"You're right. No looks and no brain," said Sora, but Yuuya could feel Sora smiling so he left it alone.

The bicycle rack in front of the cafe was crowded, most of the space taken up by four bikes all chained together. Yuuya frowned; he'd only asked Sawatari to come. Had those three guys tagged along? Well, he'd brought Sora but that was different. Sora wasn't a threat, not like they had been. Right?

Bell dinging over their head as they walked in, Yuuya craned his neck to see whether Sawatari was already seated. If he could take the initiative—

"You're late, Sakaki Yuuya."

Yuuya whipped around; Sawatari was standing with his arms crossed and, yes, his flunkies behind him.

"Honestly, I don't know what I expected from someone who duels dirty." Sawatari toyed with his bangs, pointedly looking at them instead of Yuuya. "I should have left fifteen minutes ago."

Sora scoffed and stepped in between the two of them. "So how long have you been waiting here?"

"I—" He huffed. "Not that long, okay? But you don't keep the son of the next mayor—hang on." Eyes narrowing, Sawatari frowned at Sora. "You look familiar."

"Ah, forgive me. Sawatari, this is Shiunin Sora. He—"

With a loud shout, Sawatari recoiled. "I remember you now! You assaulted me! And my friends!" They pressed in close to him, the tallest one glaring at Yuuya. Other customers were starting to stare at them, especially when Sawatari's voice rose in pitch. "Oh my god, I'm calling the police! When my papa hears about how Sakaki Yuuya brought another attacker with him—"

"No, wait! Sawatari, I wanted this to be a truce," Yuuya said, frowning at Sora and trying to pull him back.

"Truce?" They both turned to look at Yuuya, faces twisted in a mix of confusion and contempt.

Yuuya rubbed his face. For some reason he'd expected this to go more smoothly. Sawatari's—okay, what were they? Their concern seemed too genuine for just a bunch of lackeys. Friends? Sawatari's friends hadn't moved, shoulders still squared for a fight, making it difficult to feel as calm and cheerful as he needed to act.

Clearing his throat, Yuuya said, "This is just, we got off on a bad foot, okay?" The blame for that fell pretty squarely not on him, but he didn't need to point that out right now. "You don't need bodyguards, all right? Would you mind asking your friends to leave us alone?"

Sawatari squinted at him. After briefly conferring with his friends he nodded at Yuuya and said, "Fine. But we're sitting over there."

He was pointing at a window-side table in the back, conveniently next to another empty table towards which his friends were already heading. Yuuya bit back a sigh and smiled at him. There was a reason for this, he reminded himself.

\----

Shingo grabbed the chair closest to the wall, thumping down and leaning back. "Ootomo, you know what I like here." He could have said that more kindly, he knew, but things hadn't gotten off to a great start and he was getting hungry again. Maybe some food would make him less cranky. It'd help if looking at Sakaki didn't make him feel all tight inside, like there was something he wanted to say but couldn't remember what it was. Then Sora dragged up a chair and when Sakaki looked over his hair hid his face. Shingo could breathe easier now but—

"Shiunin Sora, was it? Why are you even here? Sakaki invited me, not you."

Sora stuck out his tongue. "Yuuya likes me and I'm his apprentice," he said, taking a slurping pull from the silly straw in his pink drink piled high with whipped cream and when did he get that? Did he cadge it off someone by begging with those big green eyes? Shingo scoffed.

"I can't believe you'd want to be his apprentice. You know he's useless, right? He barely knows how to duel, I mean, he only beat me because he stole my cards—" Yuuya squawked indignantly but Shingo kept going. "I'm glad he's working on getting into the Championship, though, because if he gets good enough I just might consider taking him on as a disciple," he finished with a smirk, taking the coffee and pie Ootomo handed him while ignoring his friend's disapproving look.

Fingers tightening around his glass, Sora glared at Shingo. "You can't have a disciple that has an apprentice."

"Says who? Since when are you—"

"And who's the one that got knocked out by a lollipop stick?"

Shingo slammed his fists on the table. "So you admit it?! I'm calling—"

"GUYS!" Sakaki held up his hands. "Please. Can you let me talk?"

Sora stuck out his tongue, quick enough that Sakaki didn't notice, and cute as the kid was Shingo bristled because god did he want to put his hands around—no. He was here for Sakaki.

Seemed like the guy needed a minute or two to collect his thoughts, though, so Shingo took the sugar packets Kakimoto discreetly handed him and started opening them into his coffee. What did Sakaki see in Sora? He was cute, sure, but what a nasty attitude. Was he a good duelist? That didn't make sense because the only true rival Sakaki could have was Sawatari Shingo, obviously, so it had to be something else. 

"Okay. Sawatari." Sakaki leaned forward, eyes bright and earnest, and difficult as it was to meet his gaze Shingo couldn't look away. "You know about my dad, so I'm not gonna say it's the same. But—"

"Do you need any more sugar?"

"What?" Shingo and Sakaki both turned to look at Sora.

Pointing at the pile of empty packets next to Shingo's coffee cup, Sora said, "Your drink's gonna get cold and you haven't touched it. Do you need more sugar?" He was smiling, teeth bared, and was he making fun? Was he making fun of Neo Sawatari?

Shingo growled and grabbed his drink, taking a quick sip. "It's fine. Stop interrupting." It was still kind of bitter, like he'd known it was gonna be, but he wouldn't give Sora the pleasure of being right.

Then Sora was on him, holding his face with a unexpectedly strong grip and kissing him and his lips were soft and his mouth with the tongue working and a taste of strawberry syrup—

"You liar," said Sora, pulling away and making a face. After spooning big lumps of of his whipped cream into Shingo's cup Sora took it from Shingo's hands, staring at him while tasting the coffee. "There. Much better."

Shingo sputtered, his face growing hot. He didn't want to blush in front of Sakaki but it was happening and now he was embarrassed and that just made it worse and—

"Why'd you kiss me?! Couldn't you have just done that in the first place?!"

Grinning, Sora licked his lips and said, "I wanted to see how you'd react." With a glance at Sakaki he added, "I think I'm starting to get what he sees in you."

\----

Yuuya hid his face in his hands. 

"You WHAT?" Sawatari's face was bright red as he snatched his coffee back, but when his friends looked up from their deck-building he waved at them in dismissal.

"Come to our school; you'd make a decent Entertainment Duelist. Maybe Yuuya would take you on as apprentice number two," Sora said, taking another pull at his straw. It was hard for Yuuya to tell if he was serious but Sawatari took him at face value, inhaling sharply before opening his mouth.

Yuuya hadn't seen Sora act quite like this, and from what he'd heard of Sawatari the guy was usually at least a little more restrained. Every time they'd actually met, however, Sawatari had seemed on edge, almost vibrating with excitement. He was the same now, tensed up but his facade going crooked as he yelled at Sora, glancing at Yuuya—it was as though the two of them were competing for Yuuya's attention. The realization made his stomach lurch, though whether out of dismay or anticipation he couldn't quite tell. Maybe both.

"Guys, please," said Yuuya, but his heart wasn't in it and either they didn't hear him or they just flat-out ignored him. If they spent more time together the fighting should mellow out, Yuuya reassured himself, so all he needed to do was let them get to know each other, like cats. First the hissing and spitting, then the gentle licking.

A clattering noise jolted him back to attention; Sora was trying to steal bites of Sawatari's pie, jabbing a fork at the plate, but Sawatari kept blocking him with his own fork, scooping up bites whenever Sora paused to regroup.

"Get your own frigging pie!"

Pouting, Sora said, "Aw, come on, you shared your coffee with me. Don't you like me?"

"No, I don't!" For emphasis Sawatari lifted his plate away from Sora's reach, sticking out his tongue. See, Yuuya told himself, they were changing already.

"Yuuuuuuya," Sora whined, "Make him share! If you want him to share with you he needs to share with me!"

"What is he talking about?" Sawatari said around the last mouthful of pie, staring at Yuuya as he gestured at Yamabe to get him another slice. Yamabe rolled his eyes, pushing his deck back together before getting up, but Sawatari paid him no mind; all his attention was on Yuuya now.

Sora smirked and gave Yuuya two thumbs up.

With a sigh Yuuya raised a finger before Sawatari could start yelling again. "Hold on, okay? Like I said, I wanna see if we can start over. I know you can't be all bad—" Sora stifled a laugh. "You can't be all bad," Yuuya repeated, glaring at Sora. "And I wanna start over. I think we can be friends, all _three_ of us."

Sawatari opened and closed his mouth a couple times, squinting at both of them, and took without looking the dish Yamabe held out to him. "Okay. What's the catch?" 

"Catch?"

"Y'know, what do you want me to do for you?" He took a big bite of pie, reflexively batting away Sora's hand. "I do things for Akaba Reiji, I can do things for you."

"What kind of things can you do?" Sora asked, an edge to his smile, and Sawatari looked down.

Yuuya frowned. "No catch. You have friends, don't you?" Were they not really his friends after all?

Bristling, Sawatari said, "Of course I have friends! That's different, though."

Just as Yuuya was about to ask what that meant Sora whined loudly when he was slapped back yet again. Turning to him in exasperation, Yuuya fished some money out of a pocket and shoved it at him.

"Here, it's on me. Get yourself that special one, all right?"

Sora grumbled but took the money, pushing his chair back with a loud screech as he left. He could be pretty childish sometimes but that was one of the things Yuuya liked about him. It was a good reminder to lighten up, to make sure his perspective wasn't getting too narrow.

Putting his hands on the table close enough to Sawatari's own to get him looking up again, Yuuya said, "What makes this different?"

Sawatari reddened once more. "You're different."

" _I'm_ —"

"You just are, okay?" He swallowed. "I haven't felt—"

Sora banged his fist down between them, making them jump.

"Y-you were quick," Yuuya said, then he noticed that Sora's hands were empty.

"You took the last piece! Today's the only day they make it and now I'm gonna have to wait a whole week! GIVE ME THAT!"

"Wh— No! It's mine!" 

"Mine, mine, mine—then you can _have_ it!" With that, Sora jumped onto the table and grabbed Sawatari's hair and jammed him down face-first into the pie before Yuuya could even move. Sora pulled his head back up, swiping a finger down his cheek to collect some of the gooey filling. "Mmm, that's good."

\----

Jerking out of Sora's grasp, Shingo picked up his napkin with shaking hands and scrubbed his face clean. Ootomo was there quick, his long arms lifting Sora into the air and dropping him heavy on the floor where Yamabe and Kakimoto could tower over him. 

Shingo stared out the window, trying to blink back the white-hot blur of rage, and he could hear Sakaki fumbling for something to say and that was it. That was _it_. He was done acting like they were just rivals. He'd come here out of good will to get an apology for being humiliated (twice!) but instead it'd been nothing but insults all night. Sora obviously delighted in pushing his buttons and he didn't need that in his life. All looks and no brains, that kid, just like Sakaki. What had he expected from them, Shingo asked himself, some kind of salvation?

He got up with force, shoving away from the table so his chair fell backwards with a loud bang and people turned to look. Perfect. Let everybody see how Neo Sawatari's a man of honor.

"I'm gonna get revenge on you, Sakaki Yuuya, if it's the last thing I do!" 

Shingo didn't bother looking back, pushing his friends ahead of him and pulling the door hard behind him so it'd slam instead of gently close. He'd crush everybody in the championship, show them all. Never mind that Sora had disappointment on his face and Sakaki had looked confused, maybe even a little hurt; Sakaki's eyes still shone bright and yelling at that too-kind face was like shouting at the sun. It wasn't fair, having someone threaten to surpass him so fast after everything he'd done, everything he'd had to do. That light belonged to Sawatari Shingo and he was going to chase it until it was his, no matter what.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading. please leave kudos and/or comments if you can, they mean a lot to me


End file.
